WINDER, Ga. — The Georgia man who gave his son the gun that was used at an Atlanta suburban high school, which resulted in the shooting deaths of two students and two teachers and wounding several others, was sentenced to 15 years in prison on Thursday.
Colin Gray, 55, was sentenced by Judge Nicholas Primm in a Barrow County courtroom, two days after his son, Colt Gray, 16, was sentenced to life in prison without parole for the Sept. 4, 2024, shootings, which occurred at Apalachee High School in Winder.
Colin Gray was also sentenced to 10 years for child cruelty, with lesser sentences for his other charges and all prison time to run concurrently, according to WSB-TV.
“It is clear you failed as a parent,” Primm told Colin Gray before sentencing. “You were convicted because the warning lights were flashing brighter and brighter, and you didn’t give (your son) help.”
In March, a jury found Colin Gray guilty of 27 crimes in connection with the mass shooting, according to WSB-TV. That made him one of a handful of parents in the United States who have been criminally charged after their children were accused in shootings, The Associated Press reported.
Colin Gray was convicted of second-degree murder in the deaths of two 14-year-old students at the high school -- Mason Schermerhorn and Christian Angulo.
He was also found guilty of involuntary manslaughter in the killings of teachers Richard “Rick” Aspinwall, 39, and Cristina Irimie, 53.
Another teacher and eight other students were wounded, seven of whom were hit by gunfire.
While passing sentence, Primm noted that the crimes were all of negligence, and Colin Gray was never accused of knowing or helping with his son’s plan to open fire on the school. But he added that the elder Gray’s negligence was “tethered to the tragedy committed by his son.”
“My heart aches for everyone that was there that day, for all of you that have been impacted by it,” Primm said. “But the law requires that I set aside emotion. I don’t get to sentence with passion. I have the nearly impossible task of sentencing you without passion despite the immeasurable heartache that you caused.”
Prosecutors had asked for an 80-year prison sentence for Colin Gray, WSB-TV reported. His defense team on Thursday asked the judge for a 20-year sentence, with 10 served in prison, according to the television station.
Colin Gray could have been sentenced to up to 243 years in prison, WSB-TV reported.
[ Apalachee High School shooting: Colt Gray sentenced to life in prison without parole ]
The verdict included 23 counts of child cruelty in connection to the children who survived but were hurt mentally and physically due to the gunfire.
It was the first time in Georgia a parent has been charged or convicted in connection with a shooting at the hands of their child.
The elder Gray’s attorneys, Jim Berry and Brian Hobbs, have not publicly commented on the case, according to WSB-TV.
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